At a board meeting last Thursday, motions of no confidence were passed against Houghton and Edmonds. Non-executive chairman Simon Metcalf, non-executive director Castle and finance director David Best took over immediately.
The remaining board member, Neil Kenworthy, will advise Castle and Metcalf on operational matters. Castle said: “We’d rather treat this as a private matter.” He would not comment further.
However, in a memorandum sent to MDA staff and shareholders, Metcalf said he, Castle and Best would be developing a business plan and a new management and reward structure. The memo continued: “We have lived through some difficult times over the last few months … we have the opportunity to put the past behind us.”
In February of this year, takeover talks with support services company High-Point Rendel broke down at the last minute.
The investment company STG, which owns a 27.5% stake in MDA, has made clear that it wants MDA to merge with or buy a rival and float on a regulated market.
Since the board meeting, a number of senior non-board directors have also left. These are Steve Godfrey, who left last Friday, and Graham Kent and Jim Kelly, managing director of UK operations, both of whom resigned on Monday. Houghton and Edmonds are understood to be talking to their lawyers.
Metcalf, a former director of corporate finance at NatWest Markets, joined MDA on 1 February 1997. Castle, who left Taylor Woodrow in autumn 1997 after six months in the job, joined the MDA board as a non-executive director in July 1999. Best has been finance director since last September.
The board also voted to allow STG a non-executive director on the board and register all its shares in MDA. Until now, it has registered only a 9.9% stake. STG did not approve the decision on Houghton and Edmonds. It has reserved the right to take a view until its nominee, likely to be Edward van Dyk, chairman of corporate adviser Corporate Synergy, is in place. STG chairman Stefan Allesch-Taylor was not available for comment.
